The weather in Germany in November 2019

A mild month that was somewhat too dry with below-normal sunshine Offenbach, 29 November 2019 – Low-pressure areas mostly determined the weather in November 2019. During the first ten days of the month, these areas of low pressure followed a direct course from the west to central Europe, frequently bringing precipitation and mild air. They then skirted Germany so it still remained dry in spite of the low air pressure. During this time, the temperatures were often dependent on the dispersal of the fog and low stratus cloud cover, which then occurred frequently. In summary, November was somewhat too mild and too dry yet with below-normal sunshine. This is what the initial analysis by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) of data from its around 2,000 weather stations shows.

A predominantly mild November At 5.2 degrees Celsius (°C), the average temperature in November was 1.2 degrees higher than the figure for the international reference period for 1961–1990. Compared to the warmer reference period 1981–2010, the temperature was 0.8 degrees higher. Inflows of subtropical air temporarily reached large swathes of Germany at the start of November. These caused the mercury to rise to over 17 °C on 2 November, with Ohlsbach near Offenburg registering the highest November temperature of 20.1 °C. The rest of November was much cooler, but it was still mild. In the second and third ten-day periods, temperatures were frequently determined by the dispersal of fog and low stratus cloud cover as well as the position of low-pressure areas. During this time, the west was generally colder than the east. The lowest temperature of -9.6 °C was recorded on 11 November in Meßstetten, to the east of Rottweil on the Swabian Alb.

Plenty of rain in some regions, but overall somewhat too dry With around 60 litres per square metre (l/m²), rainfall in November was 13 per cent less than the average of 66 l/m². During the first third of the month, low-pressure areas from the west and their extensions frequently brought widespread but generally only light rainfall. Exceptions here were 'Arne I' and 'Arne II', which brought significant amounts of rain to the extreme north on 4 and 5 November. During this period, the highest daily rainfall figure of 42.3 l/m² was recorded in Oldenburg in Holstein, to the north of Lübeck, on 4 November. At some stations in Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania, monthly average rainfall for the month had already been exceeded by 5 November. Although the low pressure continued during the second and third ten-day periods of the month, precipitation was less frequent. During the third ten-day period, precipitation fell in the form of snow in some regions. On 19 November, for instance, there was 18 cm of snow in Hellenthal-Udenbreth in the Eifel Mountains. Most precipitation fell in November in the Black Forest with up to 160 l/m², whereas the least precipitation occurred in parts of Saxony and southern Brandenburg, with only 15 l/m² in some places.

The sun favoured the Bavarian Forest and the Upper Lusatian region At around 45 hours, the sunshine duration in November was substantially less than the long-term average of 53 hours. With almost 90 hours, the Bavarian Forest and the Upper Lusatian region saw most sunshine. However, the sun only shone for 20 hours in some places in the Fichtel Mountains and southern Thuringia.

All the monthly values stated in this press release are provisional figures. The data used for the last two days of the month are based on forecasts. Some of the measurements from DWD's network of stations were not yet available at the time of publication.

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